Reports earlier this week stated that Antonio Conte wanted to add Andrea Pirlo to his back room staff as a replacement for the departing Steve Holland, however, Conte has come out to clarify that he was not expecting the veteran to join him at Chelsea.

Chelsea will lose Steve Holland to the English national team this summer and have been looking for credible replacements. This has led former Chelsea coach Ray Wilkins to speculate that the Italian is set to name his former player Andrea Pirlo, as his replacement.

Conte is actively looking for a replacement, but has ruled out the possibility of Pirlo joining him at Stanford Bridge.

According to him, Pirlo is still interested in his playing career. At the age of 37, the Italian is still staring for New York City FC in the MLS.

The question now, is who will take over from Holland at Stamford Bridge, there is a long list of qualified candidates out there and you can be sure that Conte will make the right choice, eventually.